So I think I adequately explained to A. what the difference is between a job and a business. But she was getting bored of talking about business all the time. So I’ve been looking for places to sneak in discussions about business that don’t use the word. Since every business has an industry, I’ve been naming those instead.

So while we were making pancakes, we had this conversation:

Dan
What if we opened a restaurant that just served pancakes?
A.
That would be fun!
Dan
What things would we need?
A.
We'd need pancake mix, and butter, and pans...
Dan
And a building
A.
Yeah, and water, and a kitchen...

She added more things to the list, and I mentioned a cash register.

Dan
So if we sold this restaurant what would the people who buy it get?
A.
All that stuff.
Dan
Yeah, the building and the pancake mix and the kitchen...

So that worked out. I’m gonna continue with these sorts of exercises for a while. The next level will be to discuss owning only part of a business. That feels like a big leap conceptually, so I’m going to spend the interim looking for smaller steps.

Business for 6 Year Olds

Part 1 is about what a business is.

Part 2 is about what a business has.

Part 3 is about how businesses are not jobs.

Part 4 is about concrete examples.

Part 5 is about brand loyalty.